UK Alan Leppard April 1991 and Brenda Long December 1991, Kent UK

[Mrs Marple]

Alan wouldn't have been hard to track down, and I very much doubt the gunman would have prioritised a LHD vehicle.

Shotguns were also extremely common and available in Kent in the early 90s.

The Rettenden murders were shotgun weren't they? I suspect it was the weapon of choice for drug lords and countryside gent wannabes

 

[Mrs Marple]

The White Stag was reportedly a couple of doors down from the cottage where they lived. This is on a main road with houses all round it. I wonder why there weren't any witnesses.

 

[davidt]

Never heard of this case before, interesting watch!

Nothing to add except the guy who came into the pub to ask after Alan Leppard looks the spitting image of John Palmer!

Then we have Nick Biddiss leading the case, just over five years later he was leading the manhunt for Kenneth Noye who got himself into a little bit of bother again....

Kent was pretty dodgy in the early 90s it is fair to say....

Perhaps different times but can't say I'd be too found of opening the door after half 10. Would what the response would've been if they'd just knocked on the bedroom window to alert the individuals they were in?!

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned a podcast where they say the couple were used to having visitors late at night. Unfortunately as I recall there wasn't any information on who these visitors were or why they would be calling at that time. Similarly mentions of the couple using different names at times but no explanations for why.

Alan had been married and divorced several times so a disgruntled ex or partner thereof is definitely an area of interest. They were also both in to bodybuilding which is an activity known for the illegal use and provision of steroids and so on. Could there be an angle here? Were these regular late night visitors supplying or being supplied with such stuff ? Could a deal have gone wrong?

 

[TheRockingRev]

Alan had been married and divorced several times so a disgruntled ex or partner thereof is definitely an area of interest. They were also both in to bodybuilding which is an activity known for the illegal use and provision of steroids and so on. Could there be an angle here? Were these regular late night visitors supplying or being supplied with such stuff ? Could a deal have gone wrong?

Also back then nightclubs, bars and pubs were more abundant. This was in an age when security was unregulated. Doormen were often bodybuilders, having the control of the doormen gave drug dealers power in establishments - it all went hand in hand.
This was still the rave era too, drug dealing was rife and in places like Kent, with plenty of countryside, there was lots of illegal raves. Regular people could make a lot of money by investing in the drug industry.

 

[TheRockingRev]

Kent in the 90s seems to have been like an episode of Sons of Anarchy!

You aren't wrong. Kent was a dodgy place back then. The Medway towns were as rough as f*** and there were quite a few big name villains who lived in the county. This was before they all started to move North into Essex.

 

[tes1984]

The White Stag was reportedly a couple of doors down from the cottage where they lived. This is on a main road with houses all round it. I wonder why there weren't any witnesses.

IIRC there was a loud karaoke event at the pub that night, which is why nobody in the pub heard the gunshot.

If the killers were only there for a few minutes, then it's possible nobody left or entered the pub during this time. The apparent lack of local witnesses is strange though.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Monkton is the middle of nowhere. I am surprised everyone was in the pub living it up. I guess it was a different era then. It must have been quite a close knit village. I wonder what they made of the new couple.

 

[tes1984]

Monkton is the middle of nowhere. I am surprised everyone was in the pub living it up. I guess it was a different era then. It must have been quite a close knit village. I wonder what they made of the new couple.

Monkton had hundreds of houses, and also neighbouring villages. I wouldn't say it was the middle of nowhere.

I don't think the Leppards were seen as anything out of the ordinary. Just another couple in the area but that's JMO.

 

[sportstergirl]

Alan Decabral, no stranger to wrongdoing & a witness in the Kenneth Noye road rage murder was an American car enthusiast who bought & sold them along with classic motorcycles & other classic cars was living in Pluckley 31 miles away. Decabral was known to drive a white Cadillac.
Alan Decabral was shot dead in his son's car in Halford's car park Ashford in 2000, his murder remains unsolved.

 

[davidt]

Well a car dealer would be ideally positioned to obtain such a vehicle and possibly more importantly be able to get rid of one as well.

I mean the whole case is bizarre but there must be a reason such a conspicuous vehicle was used and then driven around the area slowly over a period of time so everyone could see it. In some ways it has parallels to the Alastair Wilson shooting where someone is shot on their doorstep for no known motive and no one is even sure if the original intention was to kill or whether something else was going on that went wrong ending up with a shooting. I'd love to know what the police really think about this one. A couple murdered months apart and the police officially don't even know if they are linked. I'd be surprised if they haven't got some idea.

 

[trendsetter]

Alan Decabral, no stranger to wrongdoing & a witness in the Kenneth Noye road rage murder was an American car enthusiast who bought & sold them along with classic motorcycles & other classic cars was living in Pluckley 31 miles away. Decabral was known to drive a white Cadillac.
Alan Decabral was shot dead in his son's car in Halford's car park Ashford in 2000, his murder remains unsolved.

What are your sources for this?

 

[sportstergirl]

news​

The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com › oct › tonythompson.the...

 

[trendsetter]

Here's a proper link to the Guardian story: Was Noye case witness killed by Hell's Angels?

I don't see any reference there to Decabral being an American car enthusiast or someone who bought & sold them or being known to drive a white Cadillac.

 

[davidt]

What are your sources for this?

I've found an article on Reddit that speculates on a link. Nothing more than that. Not sure if we are allowed to link Reddit threads on here?

 

[davidt]

Here's a proper link: Was Noye case witness killed by Hell's Angels?

Think it might be this one but it doesn't mention Leppard as far as I can see.

Was Noye case witness killed by Hell's Angels?

Detectives believe two classic underworld hits could be linked to a rapidly escalating war between biker gangs

www.theguardian.com

 

[davidt]

Just relistening to the "They Walk Among Us" podcast as it's a relatively recent one. They do say quite clearly that Alan went out via the back door and walked around the side of the house. I do find that a big odd. Why not just open the front door? Did Alan have reason to be wary?

They do also say it wasn't unusual for them to receive unannounced visitors late at night. I'd definitely want to know more about that. And how do they know the visits were unannounced?

Also the apparent use of multiple names by both of them could do with an explanation.

 

[tes1984]

I don't see any reference there to Decabral being an American car enthusiast or someone who bought & sold them or being known to drive a white Cadillac.

True and it's not certain that the vehicle of interest was actually a Cadillac, or even that the car was white.

 

[tes1984]

Just relistening to the "They Walk Among Us" podcast as it's a relatively recent one. They do say quite clearly that Alan went out via the back door and walked around the side of the house. I do find that a big odd. Why not just open the front door? Did Alan have reason to be wary?

They do also say it wasn't unusual for them to receive unannounced visitors late at night. I'd definitely want to know more about that. And how do they know the visits were unannounced?

Also the apparent use of multiple names by both of them could do with an explanation.

Not everyone would just open the door late at night. Perhaps he was trying to have a sneaky look who it was without being noticed.

I wonder if unannounced visitors might have been friends from the pub two doors down. Maybe locals/regulars/drunks who knew them would sometimes try to pop in for a nightcap.

I haven't seen any evidence that they went by multiple names. Brenda denied it after Alan's murder.

 

[davidt]

Not everyone would just open the door late at night. Perhaps he was trying to have a sneaky look who it was without being noticed.

I wonder if unannounced visitors might have been friends from the pub two doors down. Maybe locals/regulars/drunks who knew them would sometimes try to pop in for a nightcap.

I haven't seen any evidence that they went by multiple names. Brenda denied it after Alan's murder.

I've seen newspaper clippings where she is referred to as Diane. Podcast does also mention Brenda's denials. All a bit odd.

Going purely by that particular podcast they did visit the pub but kept themselves to themselves. It also said they had never introduced themselves to their neighbours. On top of that they say the landlord originally claimed not to know who they were.

 

[tes1984]

I think the Diane reference may just have been a (not uncommon) case of the press getting the name wrong.